Man seriously injured in Worcester hit-and-run accident

WORCESTER — Police are investigating a hit-and-run pedestrian accident that seriously injured a man who was attempting to cross Summer Street, outside St. Vincent Hospital, according to police.

The unidentified pedestrian was taken by ambulance to a local hospital following the accident, which happened about 7 p.m., near the entrance to the hospital garage. The extent of his injuries was not immediately available.

An unidentified witness said he looked over just as the pedestrian was being struck and knocked onto the hood of the car that was traveling south on Summer Street. He said the driver appeared to tap the brakes, which caused the man to roll forward off the hood and onto the road in front of the front right wheel. The witness said at that point, the driver proceeded forward. It appeared the pedestrian's legs were run over, he said.

"The car just kept going," the witness said. "What kind of person doesn't stop after that?"

He said the first thing he did was bolt from his car into traffic and stop other oncoming vehicles from hitting the man, who he said was lying in the road unconscious. He said the pedestrian was bleeding from the mouth and face.

The witness said he was later told by several motorists that it was good he stopped them because they had not seen the man lying in the road.

The police accident reconstruction team was summoned to the scene, as well as Crime Scene Investigation officers. Police detoured Summer Street southbound traffic between the intersection of Central Street/Martin Luther King Boulevard and Bridge Street. One lane northbound remained open on Summer Street.